Printing machine plate handling and mounting and removal apparatus are known, see for example, German Patent Disclosure Document DE-OS 36 30 876. This apparatus has a printing plate transport carrier which is movable along a transport path, to supply the printing plates to the printing station. A transport track is provided to transport previously used printing plates after they have done their printing jobs, to a removal and recycling or disposal point. Each one of the printing stations is associated with a robot apparatus which, based on control information supplied thereto, secures the printing plates to the respectively commanded plate cylinders of the printing stations and, after printing, again removes the printing plates from the plate cylinder. This structure has a disadvantage in that the printing plates to be applied by the robot apparatus cannot be picked up directly by the apparatus from a plate transport system; rather, a separate printing plate unloading apparatus must be associated with each one of the printing stations, which picks out printing plates from a plate transport carrier, transports them to a plate auxiliary carrier which passes along or around the printing station. Only then, and at a predetermined position, can the robot apparatus pick up a printing plate. The multiple loading, reloading and change of carriers to which any printing plate must be objected upon plate change, as well as the number of the respective apparatus units which all handle the plate, require substantial control apparatus and control program capability as well as programming time; the apparatus which are programmed and controlled, due to their multiple functions and the multiple handling of the printing plate, are subject to malfunction, which interferes with smooth plate changing and printing of subject matter.
In newspaper work, particularly, a substantial number of printing plates must be applied to a printing machine under time pressure. Rotary printing machines, as customarily used in newspaper work, are highly labor-intensive with respect to plate changing. Due to the time pressure, which is occasioned by the desire to print the latest news as quickly as possible, the printing plates are frequently ready only very shortly before printing is to commence. If late-breaking news is present, printing may have to be interrupted and a plate changed quickly for another one.